Gwrgi Garwlwyd

Last updated

Gwrgi Garwlwyd ("Man-Dog Rough-Grey") is a warrior character in Welsh Arthurian legend. He appears in the poem Pa gur and in the Welsh Triads as a fierce warrior, and may have been seen as a werewolf.

<i>Pa gur</i> 13th century manuscript

Poem 31 of the Black Book of Carmarthen, a mid-13th century manuscript, is known from its first line as Pa gur yv y porthaur? or Pa gur, or alternatively as Ymddiddan Arthur a Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr. It is a fragmentary, anonymous poem in Old Welsh, taking the form of a dialogue between King Arthur and the gatekeeper Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr, in which Arthur boasts of his own exploits and those of his companions, especially Cai the Fair. Pa gur is notable for being one of the earliest vernacular Arthurian works, and for alluding to several early adventures of Arthur which are now lost. Its precise age is not known and has been the subject of wide-ranging disagreement, but scholarly opinion now tends to favour a date of c. 1100.

Welsh Triads group of related texts in medieval manuscripts

The Welsh Triads are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby objects are grouped together in threes, with a heading indicating the point of likeness; for example, "Three things not easily restrained, the flow of a torrent, the flight of an arrow, and the tongue of a fool."

Werewolf Mythological human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature

In folklore, a werewolf, or occasionally lycanthrope, is a human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction and especially on the night of a full moon. Early sources for belief in this ability or affliction, called lycanthropy, are Petronius (27–66) and Gervase of Tilbury (1150–1228).

Contents

Accounts

In Pa Gur, King Arthur and his men fight against an army of cinbin, or dogheads, at the mountains of Eidyn (modern Edinburgh). In the next passage, Arthur's men fight Garwlwyd ("Rough-Grey") in the Battle of Tryfrwyd, possibly a second fight against the monsters. Arthur's warrior Bedwyr (later known as Bedivere) spars with Garwlwyd, evidently their champion. [1]

King Arthur legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries

King Arthur was a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name also occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododdin.

Cynocephaly mythical creature

The characteristic of cynocephaly, or cynocephalus, having the head of a dog—or of a jackal—is a widely attested mythical phenomenon existing in many different forms and contexts. The literal meaning of "cynocephaly" is "dog-headed"; however, that this refers to a human body with a dog head is implied. Often, such creatures also have human intelligence. Such cynocephalics are known in mythology and legend from many parts of the world, including ancient Egypt, Greece, and China. Further mentions come from the medieval East and Europe. In modern popular culture cynocephalics are also encountered as characters in books, comics, and graphic novels. Cynocephaly is generally distinguished from lycanthropy (werewolfism) and dogs that can talk.

Eidyn

Eidyn was the region around modern Edinburgh in Britain's sub-Roman and early medieval periods, approximately the 5th–7th centuries. It centred on the stronghold of Din Eidyn, thought to have been at Castle Rock, now the site of Edinburgh Castle, and apparently included much of the area below the Firth of Forth. It was the most important district of the Brittonic kingdom of Gododdin, and a significant power in the Hen Ogledd, or Old North, the Brittonic-speaking area of what is now southern Scotland and northern England.

Welsh Triads 10W and 32 feature Gwrgi Garwlwyd ("Man-Dog" "Rough-Grey"), who can be identified with the character from Pa gur. [2] He is described as a menace who killed one Briton every day, and two on Saturday to avoid killing on Sunday. His death at the hands of Diffeidell mab Dissynyndawd, a bard and chieftain of Deira and Bernicia, is regarded as one of the "Three Fortunate Slayings". [3] Scholar Rachel Bromwich notes the similarity of Gwrgi Garwlwyd's name to Germán Garbglas, an enemy of Cú Chulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, and suggests that they may both have been conceived as werewolves. [4]

Celtic Britons an ancient Celtic people who lived in Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Roman and Sub-Roman periods

The Britons, also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from the British Iron Age into the Middle Ages, at which point their culture and language diverged into the modern Welsh, Cornish and Bretons. They spoke the Common Brittonic language, the ancestor to the modern Brittonic languages.

Deira kingdom in northern Britain

Deira was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Northern England. The kingdom was previously inhabited by Britons and was first recorded when Anglian warriors invaded the Derwent Valley in the latter half of the fifth century. Deira's territory extended from the Humber to the Tees, and from the sea to the western edge of the Vale of York. It later merged with the kingdom of Bernicia, its northern neighbour, to form the kingdom of Northumbria.

Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England.

Notes

  1. ↑ Green 2007, pp. 84-85, 120–121.
  2. ↑ Green 2007, pp. 120–121.
  3. ↑ Bromwich 2006, pp. 18, 73–74, 385.
  4. ↑ Bromwich 2006, p. 385.

Related Research Articles

Manawydan fab Llŷr is a figure of Welsh mythology, the son of Llŷr and the brother of Brân the Blessed and Brânwen. The first element in his name is cognate with the stem of the name of the Irish sea god Manannán mac Lir, and likely originated from the same Celtic deity as Manannán. Unlike Manannán, however, no surviving material connects him with the sea in any way except for his patronymic. Manawydan's most important appearances occur in the Second and Third Branches of the Mabinogi, but he is also referenced frequently in medieval poetry and the Welsh Triads.

Modron ("mother") is a figure in Welsh tradition, known as the mother of the hero Mabon ap Modron. Both characters may have derived from earlier divine figures, in her case the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been a prototype for Morgan le Fay from the Arthurian legend.

Gawain King Arthurs nephew and a Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend

Gawain, also known as Gawaine or Gauwaine, among various other forms and spellings, is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. Under the name Gwalchmei, he appears very early in the legend's development, being mentioned in some of the earliest Welsh Arthurian sources. As Gawain, he appears in Latin, French, English, Dutch, German and Italian literature, notably as the protagonist of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Other tales of Gawain include Historia Regum Britanniae, Roman de Brut, De Ortu Waluuanii, Diu Crône, The Awntyrs off Arthure, L'âtre périlleux, Le Chevalier à l'épée, and The Weddynge of Syr Gawen and Dame Ragnell, as well as the works of Chrétien de Troyes and the prose cycle Lancelot-Grail.

The History of the Britons is a purported history of the indigenous British (Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The Historia Brittonum is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions have a preface written in his name. Some experts have dismissed the Nennian preface as a late forgery, arguing that the work was actually an anonymous compilation.

Bedivere Legendary Arthurian knight

Sir Bedivere is one of the earliest characters to be featured in the Matter of Britain, originally appearing in a number of early Welsh texts in which he is named as Bedwyr Bedrydant. In the later versions, he is described as being the Knight of the Round Table of King Arthur who serves as Arthur's marshal and eventually returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. He is frequently associated with his brother Sir Lucan and his cousin Sir Griflet, as well as with Sir Kay.

Sir Kay knight of the Round Table

In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behaviour, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier warriors. Along with Bedivere, with whom he is frequently associated, Kay is one of the earliest characters associated with Arthur. Kay's father is called Ector in later literature, but the Welsh accounts name him as Cynyr Ceinfarfog.

The Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain are a series of items in late medieval Welsh tradition. Lists of the items appear in texts dating to the 15th and 16th centuries.

Peredur is the name of a number of men from the boundaries of history and legend in sub-Roman Britain. The Peredur who is most familiar to a modern audience is the character who made his entrance as a knight in the Arthurian world of Middle Welsh prose literature.

Morfran is a figure in Welsh mythology. Usually portrayed as a warrior under King Arthur, he is noted for the darkness of his skin and his hideousness. He appears in the narratives about the bard Taliesin and in the Welsh Triads, where he is often contrasted with the angelically handsome Sanddef.

Cath Palug, also Cath Paluc, Cath Balug, Cath Balwg, literally "Palug's cat", was a monstrous cat in Welsh legend, given birth in Gwynedd by the Henwen the pig of Cornwall; the cat was later to haunt the Isle of Anglesey, and said to have killed 180 warriors when Sir Kay went to hunt it on the island.

The Battle of Arfderydd was fought, according to the Annales Cambriae, in 573. The opposing armies are variously given in a number of Old Welsh sources, perhaps suggesting a number of allied armies were involved. The main adversaries appear to have been Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio and either the princely brothers, Peredur and Gwrgi, or King Riderch Hael of Strathclyde. Gwenddoleu was defeated and killed. His bard, Myrddin Wyllt, went mad and ran into the forest. He is probably the original of the Arthurian character, Merlin. The Welsh Triads refer to this battle as one of the "Three Futile Battles of the Island of Britain", along with the Battle of Camlann and the Battle of the Trees.

In the modern Gaelic languages, Lochlann signifies Scandinavia or, more specifically, Norway. As such it is cognate with the Welsh name for Scandinavia, Llychlyn. In both old Gaelic and old Welsh, such names literally mean "land of lakes" or "land of swamps".

King Arthurs family

King Arthur's family grew throughout the centuries with King Arthur's legend. Several of the legendary members of this mythical king's family became leading characters of mythical tales in their own right.

Gwrgi, brother of Peredur, is a figure of medieval British legend.

Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr; "Brave Grey Mighty Grasp," is a hero, warrior and porter in tradition and Arthurian mythology, in which he appears as a knight in Arthur's retinue and chief gatekeeper of his court. He is one of the earliest characters to be associated with Arthur and appears in a number of texts, including Culhwch ac Olwen, Geraint fab Erbin, Iarlles y Ffynnon, Pa Gur yv y Porthur and the Welsh Triads.

References

Rachel Bromwich was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and she was Emeritus Reader in Celtic Languages and Literature at the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Cambridge until her death. Among her most important contributions to the study of Welsh literature is Trioedd Ynys Prydein, her edition of the Welsh Triads.

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.